This week the Texas Department of Banking Commissioner, Charles G. Cooper, issued a cease and desist order to an alleged ‘decentralized cryptocurrency-bank’ called Arise Bank. The commissioner explains the startup unlawfully claims to be a banking institution and its operations must stop engaging with residents from the state of Texas. …

The largest bank in Russia, the state-owned Sberbank, has reportedly announced its plans to bypass the Russian cryptocurrency regulations and offer crypto trading to customers overseas. The bank is looking at trading pairs of the most liquid and well-known cryptocurrencies. Bypassing Russian Regulations At a news briefing on Tuesday, Sberbank’s Head …

Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has announced the pre-sale of his country’s national oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro. In addition, he has presented and signed the official petro’s whitepaper and unveiled the Petro Container for mining the new currency. Pre-Sale of Petro During the meeting of the council of ministers on Tuesday, …

Reports from the 대한민국 Republic of South Korea (ROK) indicate its Customs Service announced on Wednesday, 31 January 2018, it has discovered “cryptocurrency crimes” which amount to nearly 600 million USD. South Korea Customs Service Finds Almost $600 Million in Cryptocurrency Crime ROK Customs Service released a statement claiming to …

New data from the UK shows that interest in crypto careers more than doubled in December 2017 when the all time high Bitcoin price record dominated headlines​. The average salary for roles requiring “Blockchain” expertise ranges from £30,117 per year for a Research Analyst to £67,209 per year for a …

A South Korean court has ruled that bitcoin has an economic value for the first time. This overturned an earlier court ruling which did not recognize the digital currency. The case involves the confiscation of 191 bitcoins. Bitcoin’s Status Re-Examined The Suwon District Court in South Korea has, for the …

The state of Hawaii is planning to regulate the use of bitcoin and digital currencies that would require licensure to transmit cryptocurrency-based funds. Two bills introduced by a group of partisan Hawaiian lawmakers are focused on digital currencies as a monetary instrument under the state’s Money Transmitters Act. New Definitions …

The cybercrime combating department of Ukrainian Police has voiced support for the legalization of cryptocurrencies despite sharing some concerns about them. The Cyberpolice unit also noted the need to regulate cryptos “as soon as possible”. Ukrainian parliament is yet to adopt new legislation amid mounting calls from other institutions to regulate cryptocurrencies. …

This week the firm Coinshares Group has announced two new investment vehicles tethered to cryptocurrencies. Coinshares was the first organization to launch publicly traded bitcoin and ethereum-based exchange-traded-notes (ETN), and the firm’s new funds will offer retail investors more “familiar channels” to invest in the growing digital asset economy. Two …

Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, the petro, is a step closer to reality following the release of the official whitepaper. The eagerly anticipated document outlines the token model and crowdsale mechanism that will be used to launch the ethereum-based project in February. Having been officially signed off by president Nicolás Maduro, the …